Pakistani groups note drop in violence, credit the military

FILE -- In this March 14, 2014 file photo, soldiers of the Pakistani paramilitary force visit the site of a bombing, in Quetta, Pakistan. Two Pakistani research groups have noted a significant drop in militant violence in the country last year but say that for the trend to continue, authorities need to fight sectarian and anti-Indian extremists based in the most populous Punjab province. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt, File) (The Associated Press)

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FILE - In this June 1, 2011 file photo, Pakistani troops fire heavy artillery toward alleged militants hideouts in the mountain ranges in Mamad Gat, in Pakistan's Mohmand tribal region along the Afghan border. Two Pakistani research groups have noted a significant drop in militant violence in the country last year but say that for the trend to continue, authorities need to fight sectarian and anti-Indian extremists based in the most populous Punjab province. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File) (The Associated Press)

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FILE -- In this July 19, 2016 file photo, Hafiz Saeed, third left, the leader of Pakistan’s anti-Indian group Lashkar-e-Taiba, that was banned but resurrected as the Jamaat-ud-Daawa, prays for Indian Kashmiris with others during an anti-Indian rally in Lahore, Pakistan. Two Pakistani research groups have noted a significant drop in militant violence in the country last year but say that for the trend to continue, authorities need to fight sectarian and anti-Indian extremists based in the most populous Punjab province. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File) (The Associated Press)

ISLAMABAD – Two Pakistani research groups have noted a significant drop in militant violence in the country last year but say that for the trend to continue, authorities need to fight sectarian and anti-Indian extremists based in the most populous Punjab province.

The two Islamabad-based groups credited the military for the drop, specifically military operations in the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, in the chaotic port city of Karachi and the sparsely populated Baluchistan province.

The Center for Research and Security Studies says there was a 45 percent drop violence-related deaths last year, compared to the year before. The Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, which tallies violent incidents, registered a 28 percent drop in attacks in 2016, compared to 2015.

The findings, based on the groups' records, were released over the weekend.